Ithaqua
"July 28th, 2080 ''We were wrong. God help us and forgive us, we were wrong. He came to us. Ithaqua. He looked me dead in the eyes and I swear under that mask he smiled as he tore us apart. Tore the whole station apart. I cannot get out. The elevator is empty. I hear him coming. I cannot get out." - ''Alan Finch's Journal (3/3) Ithaqua (also referred to as the Angel of Malden), is a monstrous creature allegedly lurking deep within Maldenline in 2082. While hysterical survivors have sworn to its existence, skeptics maintain that the rumors surrounding Ithaqua are purely fictitious and have rebutted that heretofore all reported encounters with it have involved alcoholics, drug addicts, cannibals and the mentally infirm. Background and Origins Discrediting the testimonies of the delusional and the insane, the few who have studied the rumors surrounding Ithaqua believe that the creature was once one of the patients who was residing in Parsons State Insane Asylum in the years immediately after the war. In 2077, Dr. Earnest Flemmel, a renowned scientist within CIT suffering from an unknown mental condition, volunteered himself to be the a test subject of a secret human enhancement research program. Believing that the experiments would unlock the key to immortality before his mind was eaten away by insanity, Dr. Flemmel underwent many controversial experiments under the direction of the esteemed Dr. Richard Lerna. Designated HR-D5, he was moved to Parsons State Insane Asylum for more extensive experimentation. His time spent at Parsons inevitably exposed him to Lorenzo Cabot's psychic influence, irreversibly damaging his already failing sanity. He became obsessed with immortality and believed the key was to "let go", i.e. to give into his baser instincts and abandon his humanity, eventually adopting the name Ithaqua. During the last phases of his experimentation, he was subject to a variety of controversial treatments, including FEV and a mysterious serum. After the Great War, the last surviving scientist in Parsons released Ithaqua, partially out of pity and partially due to Cabot's influence. Within a few months of this transpiring, hunters began to report sightings of a strange inhuman silhouette which they referred to as "Ithaqua", a creature from pre-war Algonquin mythology. Convinced that they could trap the beast, the hunters lured Ithaqua into the Old Gullet Sinkhole, believing that the creature would be unable to escape. Within a week, Ithaqua escaped the sinkhole and found its way to the Malden metro, slaughtering most of the station's inhabitants. Those who survived suffered irreversible psychological damage both as a result from the attack from Ithaqua and due to recent exposure of Lorenzo Cabot's psychological influence. Rumor has it that these deranged survivors, led by the hunters who first discovered Ithaqua, became the first Maldenmen. Other insane survivors throughout the wastes joined the ranks of the Maldenmen, worshiping Ithaqua as the "Angel of Malden", a divine figure sent by a dark god to protect the Maldenmen from the warring factions and old world ghosts of the Commonwealth. In order to appease their dark god, they offer Ithaqua human sacrifices, usually either captured survivors or willing volunteers from within the ranks of the Maldenmen. Physiology The appearance of Ithaqua remains mostly a mystery, due to the fact that very few individuals have actually seen the creature, and fewer have survived to tell the tale. Reclaimed logs from hunters who have tracked the creature describe it as a hunched beast standing slightly taller than a human, with thick leathery skin and a body structure similar to a deathclaw, but with far less bulk. Its hands are adorned with long, razor sharp claws which it uses to tear apart its prey. Ithaqua naturally walks on its hind legs, but can drop to all fours to cover ground extremely quickly in a rapid, skittering manner. Ithaqua's most distinguishing feature is the large deer skull it wears to conceal its face, leaving only its bright, white eyes visible. Gallery Throne.jpg Demon.jpg Ithaqua.jpg See Also Alan Finch's Journal (3/3) CIT Research Log: HR-D5 Patient HR-D5 Category:Wasteland Urban Legends